A judge has found a Toronto driver not guilty of dangerous driving after he swerved his vehicle onto a Dundas Street sidewalk in 2015, fatally striking a woman walking her dogs.
Gideon Fekre was 18 years old on April 20, 2015 when he became distracted by a water bottle that had fallen onto the floor near his feet and drove off the roadway and into 31-year-old Kristy Hodgson.
While reading his decision, Justice Peter Bawden acknowledged that it wasn’t a reasonable decision to pick up the bottle while driving on the busy downtown street but suggested it was a “momentary lapse of judgement.” He said the quick decision does not reflect a pattern of dangerous driving.
Bawden determined that Fekre had only taken his eyes of the road for two seconds when he veered off the roadway.
During the trial, Toronto police testified that Fekre was inconsolable when they arrived at the tragic scene and repeatedly asked about the condition of the victim.
